Nine suspected terrorists killed in Tirah valley air strikes

PESHAWAR: At least nine suspected terrorists were killed in air strikes in the Tirah valley area of Khyber Agency on Friday.

Military officials said two hideouts were also destroyed in the airstrikes.

Pakistan Air Force jets precisely targeted militant hideouts in Kukikhel area of Tirah valley in which nine militants were killed and two hideouts were destroyed, said security officials.

Khyber Agency and North Waziristan are among Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous tribal districts near the Afghan border, rife with homegrown insurgents and foreign militants.

These areas have also been considered home to religious extremist organisations including Al Qaeda and the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Military operation Zarb-i-Azb and the National Action Plan were launched against insurgents following attacks on Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport and Peshawar’s Army Public School in 2014.

Officials say nearly 3,000 militants have been killed since the launch of the latest offensive.

The number of attacks in Pakistan has fallen around 70 per cent this year, due to a combination of a military offensive against Taliban bases along the Afghan border and government initiatives to tackle militancy.